Merry Christmas from the Islands

I am just now getting around to adding text to this post. Over Christmas, we took some vacation and went on a cruise with Matt's family to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  The vacation was long over-due and the cruise part worked out pretty good with the little one (we could go out and spend time with family and then go back to the room to let David nap). It didn't really feel much like Christmas hanging out in a swim suit on a beach, but it was a great time and we really enjoyed the family time. David really got to know Papa  Bruce, Granny D and Uncle Jake and has added Bruce to his growing vocabulary. It was also especially fun to see Granny D enjoy her cruise experience...she was the first in every conga line and at the front of every dance lesson. She even won Bingo one night. Not only do we expect her to be booking future cruises, I think she is in the running to appear on the next Carnival commercial. We love you Granny D!!

These are pictures taken by the cruise ship (they are big on taking pictures to sell to you and clearly, I was a sucker for buying them...)

This was David at the airport waiting to fly to Houston to get on the cruise ship. Because David is still not a fan of the car (i.e. he screams the entire time he is in the car seat), we flew down and took a cab to the Galveston Pier.

On our balcony getting ready to head out from Galveston.

David's first time on the beach. He was really scared of the sand when we first got there, but soon was having a grand time. He dug in it, ran in it and even tried to eat it.

Jamaica's version of Santa:

David's first time having french fries...he was a big fan:

Visiting the turtle conservatory in Grand Cayman:

We took a small boat out to a sandbar and went swimming with stingrays. I didn't get good pictures, but David got in with Matt and touched and played with the stingrays. He was having a good time until one raised out of the water to "kiss" Papa Bruce. The locals entice them with squid and so they raise up and rub their top edge on your face in order to get the squid. I think he thought it was attacking his grandfather and he completely freaked. He got in again after that (he is not scared of much), but was skeptical of the stingrays getting near him. I have to admit that I was completely skeptical of the stingrays the whole time...

David in Mexico:

Cab ride back to the house. David was pooped....

Merry Christmas

My firm had a breakfast with Santa this morning before the annual Christmas parade. Here is what David though of Santa...

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a very nice meal at our house with my family to celebrate Thanksgiving. Because work has been so crazy and Matt is headed to trial in a week (he will be out of the state for two weeks- yikes!), we needed a nice and relaxing day with no travels (although we missed seeing Matt's family and the members of my family that could not make it up) and no worries( all the food was ordered and it was delicious).  David really enjoyed playing with his cousins-- he tried so hard to keep up with them.

My attempt to get all of them to stand still for a picture lasted about two seconds, so this is the best I could get:

After lunch, Matt and Brandin went to the Cowboys game and had some good male bonding time.

In David news, he has fully mastered walking, is attempting to run a bit, and is really starting to talk a lot. He can now say- mama, dada, emma (by far his favorite word), car, baby, is and bell (although he has not put them together to say Isabel - he rotates between calling her Is and Bell), banana (pronounced nana), bird, no, bye-bye and pretty (this is in response to us showing him the pretty Christmas lights that our neighbors put up so I don't think he actually gets what it means). He is also into everything, including any drawer that he can open and anything he can get off our nightstands or tables by standing on his tippy-toes. He has also mastered removing lids and bottle caps so we have to be on constant watch. He managed to get the lid off of a bottle of NyQuil (I question the child-proofing on the off-brand version that we bought) and pour it  all over himself a few weeks ago. Thankfully I was watching him (thinking, of course, that there is no harm in him playing with the bottle as it is a child proof lid) so he didn't get a chance to get any in his mouth. In general, he is a sweet, happy, loving little boy and we are so thankful to have him in our life.

Granny D to the Rescue

The great and wonderful Granny D came down again this weekend to help with the little man since Matt and I have been super busy at work (and Matt was going to the OU/Balyor game to celebrate his B-day on Saturday). Her and David are becoming quite the buds and we really appreciate her help! Thanks again, Gradma D!!!

Dallas Ft. Worth: Newborn, Baby, Toddler, & Child Photography: Sara Bella Photography: Happy 1st Birthday David#links

Dallas Ft. Worth: Newborn, Baby, Toddler, & Child Photography: Sara Bella Photography: Happy 1st Birthday David#links

Anatomy of a Walking Peanut

David is really working on perfecting his newly discovered walking skills.

David also thinks it is super funny to get on the first step and hang off of the baby gate (note his response in the last photo where I am telling him no).

12 Month Pictures